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RORC Transatlantic Race 2016
26th November 2016: Marina Lanzarote to Camper & Nicholsons, Port Louis, Grenada
http://orctransatlantic.rorc.org/-Übersicht
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6 December 2016 1500 GMT Report
Day 11: Trade winds and flying fish
Leopard 3 set to take monohull line honours:
The trade winds are back to normal, accelerating the speed of the yachts racing in the RORC Transatlantic Race. Mike Slade's Leopard is set to take Monohull Line Honours tomorrow (Wednesday 7 Dec). Campagne de France hold a big lead in the Class40 Division, and several yachts survive the attack of flying fish.
At 1200 UTC Mike Slade's British Maxi, Leopard 3 was 240 miles from Camper & Nicholsons Port Louis Marina, Grenada and expected to take Monohull Line Honours at around sunrise on Wednesday. Leopard is nearly 600 miles ahead of their nearest rival, Arco Van Nieuwland & Andries Verder's Dutch Maxi Marten 72, Aragon. Leopard is all but assured of the IMA Trophy for Line Honours and is estimated to be leading the fleet after IRC time correction. However with the trade winds re-establishing for the fleet further out to sea, Aragon still has the potential to post the best corrected time under IRC to win the RORC Transatlantic Race Trophy. Infiniti 46, Maverick still has 1,000 miles to go, but the radically designed flyer is showing her potential, surfing down Atlantic swell at high speed.
240 miles from the finish in Grenada: Mike Slade at the helm of Leopard3 © RORC/James Mitchell
"Maverick's skipper, Oliver Cotterell sent in this blog: "We had our first wildlife encounter in a few days, with playful dolphins playing on the bow. I always love to watch their displays as they surf on the aquatic ridge pushed forward by the yacht. This evening in a 'classic Piers' moment he was hit in the face by a flying fish! This is our first fish strike, but having seen a few fly over the yacht in the night, I am quite sure it will not be our last. It is another incredibly dark night. The nav. lights light up the kite and there is nothing else to see. No moon, no stars, no lights on the horizon, just an ethereal darkness that hides - that wave. Progress is goos and we are enjoying the fresh trade winds. Maverick is really doing very well; looking after us and smashing down the distance to run. As I write this the only other vessel in our class, Leopard has only 300nm to run, so should be in within 24hrs and take Monohull line honours. Well done to them! Hopefully we will not be too far behind! As it is, we are still hunting down Aragon."
Maverick Hannah Cotterell
Infiniti 46, Maverick at the start of the RORC Transatlantic Race © Hannah Cotterell
Swan 82, Stay Calm is just over 1,000 miles from the finish in Grenada and the British Maxi's closest rival is Anatoli Karatchinski's magnificent 112ft Baltic, Path.
James Heald's British Swan 45, Nemesis, racing in IRC Two Handed with Ben Harris, contacted the media team describing the trials and tribulations of racing across the Atlantic with just two on board:
"Out of the light and into the strong! Kite up and ready to hopefully hit these southerly trade winds! Beautifully sunny day with zero stress! Rocking some brilliant suntans. Many thanks to our brilliant family members on shore, showing there support and updating us on everything we need to know! Hopefully a night with good winds and a large amount of miles put behind us! Couple of flying fish the size of small dogs landing on board. I take my hat of to them to be able to hit a 45 foot yacht in this vast expanse of ocean. Right back to sailing.... we have a rum party to get to, which we don't plan on missing. Eventful night...at 0400 our A1 kite exploded in a 22 knot squall, consequently becoming a permanent member of Davey Jones' locker, along with a Harken winch handle and a Frogman torch! However we have the A3 up now and are trucking downwind! Hot as a desert out here!"
James Heald and Ben Harris, racing the Swan 45, Nemesis Two Handed © RORC/James Mitchell
Halvard Mabire and Miranda Merron's Class40, Campagne de France has a impressive 200 mile lead in the Class40 Division. However, a close battle is raging behind them between Catherine Pourre's Eärendil and Laurent Pellecuer's, Second Chance. Miranda Merron has a message for her nieces in her blog:
"After a night of unstable breeze, a few baby squall-type creatures before dawn, we now have passable trade winds. At the request of my nieces, Alice and Eleanor, we have been keeping a look out for Father Christmas, should he do a fly-by in this part of the world. I think it's more likely to be at night as otherwise the reindeer risk sunburn and heatstroke. There are possibly some children on boats crossing the Atlantic who have been good this year and written a polite letter," Miranda, Campagne de France.
Close Class40 battle: Catherine Pourre's Eärendil and Halvard Mabire and Miranda Merron's Campagne de France © RORC/James Mitchell
Follow the progress of the fleet through race blogs from the race course:
http://rorctransatlantic.rorc.org/news/2016-blogs/
and check the race tracker: http://rorctransatlantic.rorc.org/tracking/2016-fleet-tracking.html
All the latest news can be found at: http://rorctransatlantic.rorc.org
Photos: http://gallery.rorc.org/v/2016/RORC+Transatlantic+Race+2016/Finishing+yachts+RORC+TR+2016/
ENDS/....Louay Habib
THE RORC TRANSATLANTIC RACE:
The third RORC Transatlantic Race starts in Lanzarote on Saturday 26th November 2016 and the 2,865 nautical mile race runs through the Canary Islands before crossing the Atlantic to arrive in Grenada
The race is run in association with the International Maxi Association (IMA)
The winner of the RORC Transatlantic Race Trophy for best elapsed time under IRC in 2015 was Jean-Paul Riviere's 100ft Finot-Conq. Nomad IV also won IRC overall and the IMA Trophy for monohull line honours. Nomad IV also set a new monohull record for the RORC Transatlantic Race: 10 days 07 hours 06 minutes and 59 seconds
Multihull Record: 5 days 22 hours 46 minutes 03 secondsLloyd Thornburg's MOD70, Phaedo3 was the first boat to arrive in the last race and set the multihull record for the race
Class40: 12 days 12 hours 36 minutes 32 secondsGonzalo Botin's Spanish Class40, Tales II was the first Class40 to complete the race in 2015, setting a Class40 record
THE ORGANISERS:
Established in 1925, The Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) became famous for the biennial Fastnet Race and the international team event, the Admiral's Cup. It organises an annual series of domestic offshore races from its base in Cowes as well as inshore regattas such as the RORC Easter Challenge and IRC National Championships in the Solent
The RORC works with other yacht clubs to promote their offshore races and provides marketing and organisational support. The RORC Caribbean 600 based in Antigua and the first offshore race in the Caribbean was an instant success, and in 2014 RORC extended its organisational expertise by creating the new RORC Transatlantic Race from Lanzarote to Grenada in November
The club is based in St James' Place, London and Cowes, Isle of Wight
In co-operation with the French offshore racing club, UNCL, RORC is responsible for IRC, the principal international handicap system for yacht racing worldwide.The Spinlock IRC rating rule is administered jointly by the RORC Rating Office in Lymington, UK and UNCL Centre de Calcul in Paris, France
The RORC Rating Office is the technical hub of the Royal Ocean Racing Club and recognised globally as a centre of excellence for measurement. For Spinlock IRC rating information in the UK please see: www.rorcrating.com
www.rorc.org
http://rorctransatlantic.rorc.org/
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INTERNATIONAL MAXI ASSOCIATION (IMA):
The racing activities for the Maxi as a separate class started in Porto Cervo in 1980 with the first Maxi Yacht Cup. Immediately afterwards an association of the Maxi owners was founded under the name "International Class A Yacht Association" (ICAYA) with Baron E. de Rothschild elected the first President of the Class. The legal office was created in Geneva, Switzerland. "Class A" was the definition of a Maxi boat in the IOR rating system in force at that time. The following year Gianfranco Alberini was appointed first Secretary General of the Association. ICAYA organized the Maxi Yacht World Championship for many years in Porto Cervo as its European base, as well in other venues in USA - Honolulu, Newport R.I., Miami, St. Thomas, San Francisco. In Europe Puerto Portales, Antibes and Saint Tropez were selected as championship locations
When the definition "Class A" disappeared with the change from IOR it was decided to rename the Class as "International Maxi Association" (IMA). The Class is now registered in Geneva (Switzerland), has a base in Porto Cervo and an office in the USA, for rating and technical matters. The Class is now expanding its activities, and in 2010 the first Mini Maxi World Championship took place in September in Porto Cervo, Italy, In 2011 the new Rolex Volcano Race opened the Mediterranean sailing season
Andrew McIrvine took over as Secretary General in 2013. In 2014 the pure racer Mini Maxis were reformed into the Maxi 72 Class. The IMA has organised previous Maxi Transatlantic races but this is the first in association with RORC. IMA has presented a vintage trophy for line honours for this new race
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